GSAC elects president

The Graduate Student Association Council elected Michele Grimm, a bioengineering doctoral candidate, to be next year's president at Tuesday's meeting. Grimm was the editor for GSAC's newsletter this year and said she decided to run after talking to newly-elected Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Chairperson Allen Orsi and outgoing chairperson Michael Goldstein. "I enjoyed being on the executive board this year and I felt I could make a contribution," said Grimm, who will take over her new post in two weeks. Grimm said the major issues she wants to look at next year are health insurance and continuing to work AIDS education into the University program. She added that she wants to understand more about how the School of Arts and Sciences works in relation to other graduate schools on campus. "Overall, I'm really open to whatever comes up and whatever the executive committee and GSAC members tell me needs to be addressed," she said. GSAC members also elected Natalie Odoir as the new vice president of academic affairs, Jessica Neuwirth and Michael Thompson as members-at-large and re-elected Brian Huck treasurer. Outgoing GSAC president Anne Cubilie said she is pleased with the election's outcome. "I think [Grimm's] fabulous," she said. "She and Allen are going to make a great pair together." Both Orsi and Grimm worked on GSAC's executive board this year and, originally, the two members had been on the ballot running as co-presidents. When Orsi was elected GAPSA chairperson, he withdrew from the GSAC election. "We weren't sure how it would work out because of [GSAC] rules and by-laws, but by him becoming GAPSA chair and me being GSAC president, the groups can work together even more than in the past," Grimm said. And Goldstein said because the two have worked together before, he believes that GAPSA and GSAC will have a stronger relationship.

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